Fallen Heroes
by Tany L. Moony
Summary: No one wants to die young, but when the only choice you can make is death... what's left to choose.
1. Fallen Heroes

Title: Fallen Heros

Rating: PG-13; for violence and language

Spoilers: SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Summary: When the Dark Lord decides to begin war early, how are the students of Hogwarts supposed to survive an all out blood bash. Set in James' time, after their 7th year.

Dark clouds billowed across the sky; harsh rain fell from the darkening clouds and pierced the five teenagers' bodies. There was a burst of crimson blood that caused Sirius to scream in anger, as Remus fell backwards into the mud.

"REMUS!! No, don't die!" Sirius, the boy who usually held all tears back, began crying. He fell to his knees and clutched a few blades of wet grass between his scarred, bleeding fingers.

"REMUS!! Remus, no..." Laini tried to run towards his fallen figure but the mud was slippery and she fell back onto her hands. "Remus... I mustn't loose you... please..." He emerald eyes gazed frantically over at him, at the thick puddle of blood that was mixing with the mud and rain water.

"Laini! Don't get to close, haven't you noticed that we're being knocked off like flies! First Peter and now Remus!" Tally called her blonde hair matter against her pale cheeks. Laini turned to face Tally angrily, still sitting in the mud.

"Remus is dead though! He's not gone, not like Peter!" Laini screamed.

"Tally, get down!" James screamed, diving on Tally and pushing her out of the way right before another jet of green light passed over their heads. James and Tally sat up, Tally rubbing her now aching head as James searched around for his glasses, which had slipped off in the process.

"Remus John Lupin, stand up now! You can't be gone! I will not allow it to be true!" Laini tried standing again but to no avail and she slipped and landing on Sirius' wounded leg. Sirius winced in pain and clutched at his leg after Laini pulled herself off. "I apologize Sirius," She muttered, then turned to see Remus stir slightly.

"James..." Lily appeared through the fog of rain, holding her left arm and grimacing. She was missing her robe and her sweater-vest had been completely ripped down the front, where blood stained her blouse.

"LILY!" James exclaimed, hearing her voice but, being unable to see her without his glasses. "Are you okay?"

"I've been in worse conditions..." The red haired girl said, dropping next to James and Tally. She turned to look at Tally, "Where are his glasses?"

"Dunno... you can help find them if you'd like." Tally replied, her hands flying across the grass in an attempt to feel his glasses.

"Lai... ni..." Remus' mouth barely moved once but the words hit Laini's ears, followed by his pained scream.

"REMUS!!!" Laini and Sirius, now sitting close to each other, both yelled his name. There was another flash of green as the body of Andromeda Black flew over Laini and Sirius' heads, causing blood to fall upon them like rain.

"Andromeda!" Sirius called to his now fallen cousin, who lay, not ten feet away.

"Is she okay?" Laini asked, also being Andromeda's younger cousin.

"I don't think so-"Sirius was cut off as a red light hit him directly in the back, he screamed and keeled forward, by Laini's knees.

"SIRIUS!" Laini screamed, more tears trickling down her cheeks, mixing with the salty rain water. A blood stain was quickly forming where Sirius had been hit with the spell.

"Sirius! No, Laini what happened to him!?" Tally screamed, abandoning the search for James glasses and walking as fast as she could without falling towards Sirius. She dropped next to him and through her arms around his wounded body.

"Tally... we have to do something to save everyone!" Laini stood, as did a very hesitant Tally.

"I'll come back for you, Sirius, I promise, I won't let you die." Tally whispered, her tears falling onto Sirius' cheeks. Laini's eyes slanted as she stared over towards Remus, who let out another struggled gasp of pain.

"Tally... I'm sorry... I should be the one protecting you..." Sirius' raspy voice floating upwards towards Tally's ears. She blinked and closed her eyes, trying to hold back her next wave of tears.

"No, Sirius... I'm sorry..."

"We have to get going... find someone who's not hurt or injured..." Laini said, hesitant to leave Remus side, for he was struggling to fight the pull that was taking him away to his final resting place. "We'll get help..."

And with those final words, Tally and Laini dashed off towards the looming shadow that was Hogsmeade Village.

A/N: Not to big of a cliffhanger... will the Marauder's survive? Maybe... and there are some referances to my other HP stories in these upcoming chapters, to find the source, you'll have to wait for the other storys to have their chapters uploaded... sorry...


	2. Stopped Dead

Title: Fallen Heros

Rating: PG-13; for violence and language

Spoilers: SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Summary: When the Dark Lord decides to begin war early, how are the students of Hogwarts supposed to survive an all out blood bash. Set in James' time, after their 7th year.

Laini and Tally screamed as five jets of green and red lights shot barely above their heads. Ducking low, Laini transformed into a fox and nudged the knot of the Whomping Willow tree. Tally followed this example and transformed into a raccoon, slipping into the small hole after Laini. They both transformed back when they were well into the opening and out of the wind and rain.

"Finally, we're out of that storm and away from the fighting..." Tally commented, shaking her head and releasing the droplets of rain that were dripping slowly down the strands of her blonde hair.

"Yeah, for now... we need to get to Hogsmeade, maybe there's a way to contact someone... some Owls in the post office or something..." Laini muttered, wrapping her arms around her soaked shoulders and leading the way through the winding path to the Shrieking Shack. Laini and Tally came upon the first stair that led directly to the top of the house, they both were shivering and their jaws were chattering as the entered the room in which Remus would stay during the full moon.

"Hey, what if the Owls won't fly in this weath-"Tally stopped short as she slammed into Laini's back. "What are you looking at?" Laini had stopped dead in the middle of the room, staring straight ahead towards the old, metal spring bed.

"So, you two have decided to ditch your companions?" A dark figure walked out from his curled spot next to the bed. His dark black, greasy-looking, hair was completely dry and absent of all traces of rain. His Slytherin robes and shoes were mud-free as well. He gave a barely noticeable smile as the girls both exclaimed.

"Severus!"

"Yeah, so where'd you leave Black and Potter? To fend for themselves in the all out war? And Laini, you've left Remus all alone? That werewolf can't defend himself even if he really needed too." Severus commented, staring from Tally's sapphire eyes to Laini's emerald ones.

"Remus is dying, thank you very much... we haven't ditched them either, we're going to Hogsmeade to try and send an owl to Dumbledore, or somebody." Laini said.

"Surprised you aren't out there with those Death Eaters, Snape, wasn't it your dream to become one from the time you first discovered there motives? Well if you haven't noticed, the so-called Mud-Blood Haters have resorted to killing any one and everyone, no matter the blood race." Tally said, crossing her arms angrily across her chest.

"I felt obligated to stop anyone from getting a word to the outside world... apart from the Hogwarts grounds... we've trapped most of the witches and wizards among Hogwarts borders..."

"So you are helping the Death Eaters!" Laini exclaimed, ashamed to see the person she respected helping the wrong side.

"Yeah, in my own way... I'm showing them how useful I can be, apart from killing..." Severus had an odd gleam in his eyes. "Now, even though I knew you both through my school years, I refuse to let you pass through... thanks for telling me your ulterior motives before hand... now I don't have to waste time asking."

"But, Severus, you can't kill us! We've done nothing wrong! How can you suddenly turn on your friends?" Tally shrieked, alarmed written in her eyes.

"Friends? I've never had any friends... I've gone through my life being ridiculed and hurt by those fools out there, now they're getting what they've deserved for a long time." Severus hissed.

"But, Severus... I thought _we_ were friends, I never did anything to hurt you." Laini looked quite frightened, was all hope of saving Remus and Sirius gone...

"You may not see what you've done, but you've hurt me all the same... you chose Remus over me on our fifth year... causing me to painfully relieve all those past memories... but with the Dark Lord I won't have to!" Severus' voice was slowly becoming stronger. [For reference to the paragraph above is in my Moon Light scars story, but that chapter hasn't been uploaded yet.]

"I could help it, Severus, I know it may seem like I chose wrong but I didn't. Severus I didn't want to hurt you and I told you if I hadn't followed what I knew was write I'd be changing who you were and I like who you are." Laini said quickly, trying to get Severus to realize.

"Ha, don't try to fool me; I know that you're just trying to get my mind off of what I'm aspiring to do, scream if you'd like, the Shrieking Shack is to far from Hogwarts grounds for anyone to hear you." Severus walked towards the two girls slowly.

"Now, Snape, think about this. So what if we made fun of you during your school years, you're still alive and we still consider you a friend." Tally said quickly, her voice rattling. A strong wind rattled the sides of the shack and the three of them dropped low as a bar from the ceiling swung near there heads.

"We can't hide out from the storm in here any longer, the place will collapse and we'll all die-"Laini began.

"A chance I'm willing to take." Severus cut her off.

"You're willing to kill yourself if it insures you can take us down with you?!" Tally exclaimed. "You can't do that, your dreams of being a Death Eater will be shattered!"

"I don't care... my job is to kill you both." Severus breathed, eyes slanted and glaring at the two girls who were still squatted next to each other.

"You don't have a job, you aren't a Death Eater yet, and you can't kill yourself and be rewarded for a job you were never issued to fulfill!" Laini screamed then screamed again as a body crashed through the roof above them and blood splattered there faces.

"JAMES!"

A/N: Alrighty then, getting a little better.... sorry for those who thought Severus would beat Tally and Laini at this point... maybe later in the story if he survives.


	3. Death Eater

Title: Fallen Heros

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

Tally and Laini both screamed as tears filled their eyes. Tally stood from her squatting position and ran over to James side. He was still missing his glasses and there was a red splotch on his right cheek and left hip.

"Is he..."

"No, just barely alive..." Tally answered to Laini's question.

"Tally? You need to get help... Lily's all alone out there... Sirius... and Remus might not make it..." Tally listened intently to James slow, dying voice.

"See Severus, we really need to get in contact of someone... can't you postpone this stupid charade." Tally hissed, her tears dripping into the gash on James' cheek.

"I can't just let you go! How else am I supposed to become a Death Eater?!" Severus yelled, clenching his fists.

"One small thing like this won't ruin your chance to become a Death Eater, killing us all will though, because then you'll be dead!" Laini screamed. "And why in hell would you want to become such a thing in the first place."

"Because of you..." Severus turned to look at Laini directly, his dark eyes burned into hers as he continued speaking, "Ever since I first saw you during the Sorting Ceremony in our first year... I saw that defying look in you eyes, the way you locked your gaze with me..." He paused, turning away from Laini, "And I knew what kind of blood line you were from, a pure one... one constantly trying to impress the Dark Lord to accept them... I wanted to know you, turns out you had my views towards Mud-Bloods..."

"But that stopped in the middle of our second year." Laini was confused and Tally, still knelt by James, watched the two of them relive past memories once again.

"I know... and that completely killed all my dreams of bringing you down with me... you've betrayed my belief in you and I feel you should die for it."

"Betrayed _your_ belief in _me_!? I don't have any codes to live my life by, Severus, I will not listen to you!" Laini screamed, ducking as Severus pulled out his wand and shot a blast towards her.

"HEY, WATCH IT WITH THAT WAND!"

"I'm not looking to miss you, fool, I'm _trying_ to hit you." Severus called.

"Well shows how terrible you are at hand-to-hand wand combat." Tally said, standing up and pulling out her wand as well. Laini followed Tally's lead and pulled her wand from her pocket.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Laini screamed as Tally screamed,

"Wingardium Leviosa." Severus' body was put into a full-body bind and then lifted off the ground. "Now, Laini swing your wand towards the window."

"I can't do that... if I do, the impact may kill him." Laini replied, her wand arm shaking.

"DO IT!" With no further instructions Laini aimed her wand arm towards the window, in perfect synchronization with Tally, causing Severus' body to be thrown from the room and out the window. Glass shattered around the girl's and James as Severus screamed and fell towards the muddy ground below.

"I can't believe I just did that..." Laini muttered sadly, she shook her head regretfully.

"Well when we get help we can also help Severus... we didn't use any lethal spells... just two simply ones from first year..." Tally replied, grabbing Laini's hand and pulling her out the door.

"We'll be back, James, hold tight!" Tally and Laini screamed as they faded back into the fog of rain. They followed the path that led away from the Shrieking Shack and towards Hogsmeade Village.

Oh, no! Poor James... I didn't want to do that, but needed some kind of impact on the Marauder's part. Where's Remus and Sirius and when James got blasted into the Shrieking Shack, where'd Lily go?


	4. Rescue Awaiting

Title: Fallen Heros

Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: SS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP

The rain was falling harder than ever making it near impossible for Tally and Laini to see the well-worn path to the Village. As soon as they passed the borders for the Shrieking Shack a long low howl reached their ears. Laini and Tally both paused turned to look at each other and then in synchronization they both turned to look up at the sky, at the bright full moon that was peering through the wave of rain and clouds.

"Remus..." Tally paused and turned back to Laini.

"No, was that him?" Laini asked quietly, almost inaudible through the rain, thunder and the second howl that pierced the sky.

"If it was we defiantly need to get help." Tally said and they both dashed off towards the small cottages and shops that were soaked. Rain fell like waterfalls off the roofs and drifted towards the overflowing gutters.

"The post office is this way..." Laini said, shielding her eyes and leading Tally past Zonko's Joke Shop and The Three Broomsticks. The two of them disappeared into the post office, once again out of the rain but not nearly out of the wind. The glass and door of the post office were gone and rain was filling it like a pool, yet none of the falling rain could reach them.

"I don't think there are any owls still hanging around here..." Tally noted, disappearing into the back room to look. She appeared about five minutes later, "None."

"Darn... PERSEUS!" Laini screamed, cupping her hands around her mouth and angling her head towards the sky.

"Whooo..." A small dusty owl magically flew into the post office; landing on Laini's outstretched arm and tilting his head. It was James' owl, Perseus, and he usually came when any of the Marauder's or Laini and Tally called.

"We need you to find Dumbledore... Tally quick, write a letter." Laini said as she stroked the wet owls' feathers. Tally disappeared into the back room once again and appeared with a letter already enveloped and signed for Dumbledore. Tally handed the letter to Laini who tied it to Perseus' left leg. "Now go, be careful!" Laini moved her arm and the owl swooped out of the room.

"Now, to get back to the others." Tally noted. Suddenly, both Tally and Laini paused; neither said a word, they just both listened. There was another low howl and then the entire room got icy cold.

"Is it freezing now or is it just me?" Laini asked as her teeth began to chatter.

"It's freezing..." Tally agreed and the two girls walked back out into the rain and wind. Again they paused and as it dawned on them what they were staring at, they screamed. About 80 Dementors were surrounding Hogsmeade, there may have been more but Tally and Laini couldn't see anything passed the village through the Dementor's cloaks to tell.

"We're going... to... die..." Laini muttered as the Dementor's starting gliding towards them. The iciness filled their lungs and slowly they both gave in to the painful memories and collapsed onto the mud-filled street in front of the post office.

Yelling, a glass thrown across the room, crying, pain, and more yelling. A silver haired boy pulled his sister away from the fighting and into their bedroom. The little girl continued to cry as her brother coached her through her tears. Staring at him though her tear-filled eyes she hugged him, tears now soaking through his shirt sleeve. Laini, seven years old, actually hugged her brother, Salem, eleven, who she'd never expected to turn to for help. Shocked at first, Salem returned her hug, holding her tightly.

"Is dad going to stay a Death Eater?" Laini whispered.

"I hope not... I hope not..." Salem murmured.

"You're a witch! How come you didn't tell me this!?" Mr. Riddle was screaming at his cowering wife. Three kids watched through a crack in the door. The smallest one, Tally of seven years, began crying and her brothers comforted her.

"We'll be okay... don't worry." Tim, the middle child, told his little sister. Tom, the oldest, slanted his dull red eyes, turned on his heal and left the room.

"Tommy..." Tally whispered, "Don't leave me too..."

"I must, my parents are pathetic fools, and my father is a MUGGLE! Of non-magic, he's worthless."

"No, daddy's not." Tally said, crying as her brother hugged her small figure.


	5. Awakening

Okay, we all know the formal introductions from the other chapters so to start this off, we'll do it simply. Don't forget to check the profile box for news or updates or future stories to be coming. I own nothing but Laini and Tally/

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The two girls woke up days later in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts. Tally was the first to realize they were alive; she turned and looked at Laini's still figure.

"Laini? How'd we get here?" She whispered, looking slightly alarmed. "Is the war over..."

"I don't know."

"Glad to see you ladies awake and well." A cheery voice called, entering the room. His long silver beard hung past his hips and his twinkling blue eyes danced across each girl's pained faced.

"Sir Dumbledore!" Laini exclaimed, knowing her place now that she and Tally were graduates of this school. He smiled and nodded.

"I found a worn out owl trying to follow me on my journey across the Sierra Desert and noticed he was, in fact, trying to give me a letter of warning, from two ex-students of mine who were in need of some assistance. But upon my arrival I realized Dementor's surrounding something like vultures and concluded that neither of you had made it out of Hogsmeade after delivering my letter." Dumbledore said, grinning slightly.

"Is the war over? What happened?" Tally said, trying to skip his explanation.

"The war, I'm afraid, has killed many and is still proceeding as we speak." Laini and Tally both sat up suddenly, attempting to leave. "But." Both girls stopped at once, "Your friends are all okay, three, as I believe are resting in the next room and Miss Lily is attending some of the others."

"Sirius and James are alive?!" Tally exclaimed

"Remus is okay? But he transformed last night, with all that pain it could've killed them!" Laini followed up.

"Alas, the boy's are strong and were able to withstand the pain and pressure of the war knowing the two girls they were counting on would be sure to find help, and help they found." Dumbledore said, "If you would like to see them, they are all awake, eating, and talking about how they could've taken on the Death Eaters alone." A sparkle flash behind Dumbledore's square glasses.

"Remus!" Laini screamed, tossing the blanket that covered her aside and dashing from the room and into the other. Tally got out of bed as well but before going into the next room she walked up to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, Dumbledore, for helping them... I was... so... worried." She then hugged Dumbledore around the middle as tears filled her eyes. Dumbledore's eyes opened slightly more at the shock but smiled all the same and patted her on the back.

As Tally entered the room next door she saw Laini had tackled Remus and was hugging him and crying hysterically while Remus was saying,

"Ow, Laini be careful for my chest wound." Remus was referring to the wound that had blasted him backwards into the mud.

"Sorry..." Laini said blushing, but she smiled at him all the same.

"Oy, Tally..." Sirius called, lifting his hand and motioning for her to join him. Tally walked over slowly and stood next to him. "Good, now fetch me my juice." He said, lifting his cup and smiling at her.

"Heh, I see you're better." Tally replied, ignoring the cup and throwing her arms around Sirius' neck, causing him to drop the cup and encircle his arms around her waist.

"Tally, I'm so glad you're okay." He said, his voice muffled by Tally's hospital gown.

"And I can say the same to you, I thought I'd guarantied your death the moment Laini and I went for help." Tally said, tears filling her sapphire eyes.

"Hey, Padfoot, careful or you'll squeeze Sysion [A/N: Tally's nickname, like James is Prongs, pronounced: vision with an 's' like in 'see'] to death." James joked but stopped as a sight caught his eyes. A red-haired, light green eyed girl stood in the doorway, she smiled and James returned the smile. "My dear Lily..."

"James, you're awake..." Lily smiled and walked over to him, hugging him in the process. James grinned up at her and pressed his lips against hers. Lily blushed, for she'd never been kissed before and she never expected James to be the one.

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The end... I'm not going to introduce anymore chapters after this because I'm tired and you know the drill. So for the normal intro, I own nothing in any of these chapters but Laini and Tally. Thank you.


	6. A Watchful Eye

Although in the opinion of the Death Eaters the war was not yet over, but according to Dumbledore all the students and graduates who were involved were no longer part of it. And even though that caused uproar with the Death Eaters, most of the injured had no objection. Tally, Laini, Sirius, Remus, James and Lily were all up and about sooner than Madame Pomfrey had estimated and they were all headed down to the Great Hall for lunch.

"I guess this means the war is over..." Sirius said thoughtfully, then as an afterthought, he added, "At least, I'm sure most hope it is."

"Don't you?" Tally asked, looking over at his unconcerned look.

"Yeah... but the suspense was great." Sirius smiled. James then turned towards the others.

"Bet no one imagined we'd be staying at Hogwarts after we graduated." He said, laughing.

"Well, no, but we can't leave until Dumbledore's insured our safety." Lily noted, smiling at James' laughing face.

"Well at least we get to experience the feasts once more." Remus said, smiling gratefully. He still looked a little pale from the injury and the fact he had become a werewolf in the same night.

"Yeah... I'm gonna miss those after we have to leave again." Laini said. Remus laughed and wrapped his arm around Laini's robed shoulders. They were all wearing their school uniforms again just for the feeling.

"Hey, what table are we gonna sit at, we aren't assigned places anymore... although we never followed that rule." Sirius said, causing Tally and James to smile. He was referring to when Tally would sit alone at the Slytherin table and James and Sirius would sneak her to the Gryffindor table without anyone knowing; of course, Dumbledore knew anyway.

"Maybe, because they have students that no longer attend Hogwarts the setting will be different." Lily said thoughtfully.

"And you think you know everything?" James said jokingly, earning himself and slap in the arm from Lily.

"Actually, I do-"But Lily didn't get a chance to explain why she knew everything because there was a loud scream and the yell of a curse on the floor above them. All six of them looked up to see someone tumble over the railing and fall to the floor where they all stood.

"Severus!" Laini screamed, pushing through the crowd that was thronging around the fallen body. "Bloody hell, move... oww... get out of my wa-aaahhh!!" Laini screamed in mid-sentence and dropped to her knees next to Severus.

"Laini... what are you playing at?" Sirius asked as he pushed the crowd away to let him and the others through.

"He's hurt... someone just attacked him."

"So?" Tally asked. "He tried to kill us in the Shrieking Shack."

"He what?! I'll kill him!" Sirius moved to curse Severus but Lily and James held him back.

"He didn't kill them though, Sirius, and you know Laini still respects him." James said, grunting as he and Lily struggled to keep their hold.

"I'm going to find Madame Pomfrey, Remus please keep watch and don't let Sirius hurt Severus more than he is now... he could die, someone used a Crucio curse..." Laini said quickly and faded as she disappeared from the area.

"How does she know what curse it was?" Sirius asked, dropping his attempt to get at Severus.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Lily asked, releasing Sirius' hold.

"No, it's not obvious, Evans... that's why I'm asking." Sirius growled. They all seemed rather tense other than Remus and Tally.

"You can all go to lunch, I'll stay and keep watch for Laini, missing lunch isn't that bad." Remus said, smiling up at the others, but you could tell he was upset that he was in charge of watching Snape, especially since he loathed Snape.

"I'll stay too, I mean... even if he tried to kill us, I know he wouldn't have and I want to be sure he's okay." Tally said, looking up at Sirius, Lily and James. The three looked at each other, Sirius gave Tally a hug and they all left.


	7. Like Poison

Laini came running back with Madame Pomfrey on her heals. Laini looked as if she was near crying and Madame Pomfrey had all her medical stuff ready.

"He's down this hall... he's down..." Laini stopped as the word 'help' reached her ears. "Madame, someone's yelling help..." Laini announced, putting more speed into her steps as she skidded into the area where Remus looked very alarmed at the fact that Severus and Tally lie motionless on the ground in front of him.

"What happened, Mr. Lupin?" Madame Pomfrey asked, taking over as soon as she noticed that Laini was frozen on the spot.

"Uhhh.... uhh... I don't exactly know. I was just walking over to that staircase to lean against it and when I turned around Tally wasn't moving." Remus looked paler than he had earlier.

"Alright... and Mr. Snape? How'd he get hurt?"

"None of us know... we just heard a scream and then someone yelled a curse and he fell over the railing from up there." Remus said pointing upward.

"This isn't happening..." Laini muttered, finally moving. She placed her scarred hands over her eyes as tears filled them and she slowly sunk to her knees. "The war is supposed to be over... nothing bad is supposed to happen any more..."

"Miss Laini, can you please fetch the other children that were with you both earlier." Madame Pomfrey asked but it was more of a command. Laini nodded, looked at Remus once more afraid she'd come back and he'd be gone next, then she disappeared.

She pushed the Great Hall doors open so forcefully that they opened completely and slammed against the wall. Mr. Filch, who was standing not four feet from the doors full opening range, began yelling at her. She ignored him and walked in, as Lily had said, the room was rearranged for graduates and she found James and Sirius at the far extra table, laughing.

"James, Sirius... we have to go back to the second floor... Madame Pomfrey needs to speak to us... where's Lily? She's defiantly not a Prefect meeting..." Laini said eyes still red and watery.

"No, she went to the bathroom... about..." James paused, calculating the time, "more than 15 minutes,"

"Wow, she really needed to go..." Sirius commented and James and he burst into another round of laughter.

"That long? Are you sure she's okay? You guys get to Madame Pomfrey, I'll check on Lily." Laini said.

"Well maybe she doesn't wanna be bothered." James said.

"And why do _we_ have to go back to Snape?" Sirius snapped, looked appalled that he had to do something on Snape's behalf.

"Because it's not only Severus now... something's wrong with Tally and Madame Pomfrey needs you all there." Laini snapped.

"Tally?! Something's wrong with Tally! Why didn't you say so!?" Sirius practically flew off the bench and dashed from the Great Hall with James following. Laini watched them go, her vision going blurry as she stared around at the students and teachers of Hogwarts. She knew she was about to go do something but she couldn't remember what that was. Her figure wobbled a bit and then Laini collapsed backwards against the bench and fell to the floor.

The entire Great Hall began talking loudly as Professor Dumbledore rushed to Laini's side. She was bleeding from the hairline and her breathing was scarce. Professor McGonagall came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Is she okay?" She asked her voice full of concern. She knew of all the attacks and all the injured in the hospital that weren't from the war a few days ago and she knew not of what the cause was.

"Yes, either she just collapsed from stress about her friends or she's seriously hosting a lethal virus." Dumbledore said, turning to look at Minerva, unaware of all the staring eyes.

"Virus? Of what sort?" Minerva looked concerned.

"Well... I'm sure only Voldemort's followers [A/N: I didn't exactly picture Dumbledore calling them Death Eaters] will know the answer to that." He replied, "I'd contact Poppy but I believe she's busy tending to Mr. Snape and Miss Riddle."

"Oh... well we should do something about Miss Black, for we have an audience." She smiled and escorted Dumbledore from the Great Hall. Once outside he conjured up a stretcher and placed Laini on it as Lily came running up.

"What's happened, where are Sirius and James?" Lily looked down at Laini's bloody forehead and them up into Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"Sirius and James have gone to talk to Madame Pomfrey... seems Miss Riddle is injured as well." Dumbledore answered to the small girl's concerning question. Lily nodded and disappeared down the hall.


End file.
